Storm In The Middle

‘Now when evening came, the boat was in the middle of the sea; and He was alone on the land. ‘

Mark 6:47

When we looked at this scripture yesterday, we talked about how Jesus could still see them even though they were in the middle of the sea, in the dead of night and delayed His rescue because He wanted to reveal Himself to them (If you missed it, read it here). What we will look at today is the fact that they were even experiencing a storm in the first place. Jesus said, ‘Go into the boat, go to the other side,’ and in the middle, they encountered a storm.

They were not on that boat of their own accord. They were not unskilled at rowing, we know this because some of the disciples were fishermen. The storm arose anyway. Today’s reminder is pretty simple: don’t allow anybody to deceive you that because you’re obeying an instruction from God, you will not encounter a storm. There is something actually called the storm of obedience – It is the challenges you face because you obeyed.

It Happens

I’ve seen people fired from jobs that they prayed about, and God gave them miraculously, not of their fault, it was just that season. I’ve seen people go through the loss of a child whom they believed God for. I’ve seen people hurt from a marriage that they believed was God’s plan and design for them. So God asked you to go into ministry, but he didn’t tell you how challenging church people can be.

Sometimes, in the middle of your obedience, you are going to face difficulty. I want to remind you that that’s not an indication that you are on the wrong path. For a long time, some of us have come to believe—I don’t know if it’s the way that we were taught from the pulpit or just our own personal expectation—that if you’re doing God’s will, you should not encounter any form of pain. That’s not true.

What should you do? Hold on to the promise of God. Know that God is with you in the valley of the shadow of death. And remember what you read in yesterday’s devotional, that He is building character in you for the rest of the journey.

Prayer

Ask the Lord to grant you grace and help you stay faithful to the course He set before you.

Shalom